The private jet of Swaziland
King Mswati III was
impounded for non-payment of debts in Canada because he allegedly went back
on his promise to pay the bill for refurbishing it.
And, after three years
of misinformation from the Swaziland Government it has been revealed that the
plane, which was given to the King in 2012 as a birthday present, was donated
by Salgaocar,
the company that had been granted a licence to mine iron ore at Ngwenya in
Swaziland.
A South African newspaper, the Sunday Independent estimated
the cost of refurbishment to be 35 million Rand (about US$3.5 million).
Details are emerging
that a company called SG Air Leasing, which is connected with Shanmuga
Rethenam, popularly known as Shan, paid for the Douglas DC-9 jet to be
refurbished before the King took delivery.
Shanmuga Rethenam is also connected
with Salgaocar.
A source close to the deal said
the King chose to outfit his plane lavishly with the promise to pay the cost and
then he went back on his word and refused to discuss the matter.
The source also said, ‘The aircraft is owned by the
King’s personal company called Inchatsavane Company (Proprietary)
Limited, Inchatsavane signed an aircraft management agreement with Gainjet
SA (Greece). The operating cost of the aircraft is only US$8,000 to US$10,000
depending on the airport it flies to but the Government of Swaziland is paying
US$15,000 and the profit goes to the King.’
The jet, an updated Douglas DC-9,
has a controversial history. It was reportedly given to the King as a birthday
gift in 2012. The King and the Swazi Government refused
to disclose who gave the plane, saying they were development
partners of Swaziland who wanted to remain anonymous.
At the time it was reported, but
neither confirmed nor denied, that the jet
was a gift from Salgaocar (now known as SG Iron Ore Mining), a company that had recently been
awarded a contract by the King to mine for iron ore at Ngwenya.
The mine was forced to cease trading in August 2014 after a series of events orchestrated by Sihle Dlamini, who is Director Administration at the King’s Office and Assistant Private Secretary to the King.
The mine was forced to cease trading in August 2014 after a series of events orchestrated by Sihle Dlamini, who is Director Administration at the King’s Office and Assistant Private Secretary to the King.
He was also the King’s personal representative on the SG Iron board of directors. Shanmuga Rethenam was the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of SG Iron.
A compensation
claim for at least US$141 million was prepared by Southern Africa Resources Ltd (SARL), which had a
50 percent stake in SG Iron Ore Mining, against the Kingdom of
Swaziland at the International
Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
In a letter to Swaziland Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini, dated 8 January 2015, Shanmuga Rethenam said he was dedicated to Swaziland and had taken a number of actions to demonstrate this.
In a letter to Swaziland Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini, dated 8 January 2015, Shanmuga Rethenam said he was dedicated to Swaziland and had taken a number of actions to demonstrate this.
Among the actions he
listed,
‘Providing funding for the purchase of HMK’s [His Majesty the King’s] aircraft after Kuwait failed to provide the full purchase price;
‘Providing funding for the purchase of HMK’s [His Majesty the King’s] aircraft after Kuwait failed to provide the full purchase price;
‘Proving funding for
the aircraft interior cost overrun. I had to deal with the maintenance facility
for the interior conversion and had to pay for the overrun cost and providing
HMK with replacement aircraft/s during this period.’
A court in Canada impounded
the aircraft in December 2014, but the fact has only just been made public.
On
Friday (27 March 2015) a court in Canada ordered the release of the plane on a
technicality. The plane had been ‘arrested’ under the Repair and Storage Lien
Act but Judge Dow ruled that SG Air Leasing was not a ‘repairer’ even though
there was evidence that SG Air Leasing had paid for the repairs.
The plane remains held
in Canada pending an appeal on the decision.
See also
SWAZI
KING’S JET HELD FOR UNPAID DEBTS
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